Jeremy Corbyn might be about to kneel before the Queen

The
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn believes the monarchy should be
abolished.Reuters

The leader of the British Labour party Jeremy Corbyn will we be
sworn into the Privy Council today amid
fevered speculation in the press over whether he will kneel
before the Queen and kiss her hand.

Corbyn was invited to join the Privy Council following his
election as Labour leader and will have to decide whether to
stick with the tradition of kneeling before the Queen during the
swearing-in ceremony.

The question of whether Corbyn will kneel became a topic of
debate because the Labour leader is a republican who believes the
monarchy should be abolished. He even
told a newspaper back in 1994 that "a referendum on scrapping
the monarchy should be in our next manifesto, it would be very
popular."

The Privy Council is an ancient advisory body to the Queen that
has its origins in the royal courts that have advised British
monarchs since the eleventh century. Today the council meets
as a formality to receive the approval that is needed to enact
Acts of Parliament. Members of the council also
receive secret briefings on national security.

Corbyn himself has allowed speculation to build over whether he
will kneel, suggesting to
the BBC that the act of kneeling might be something that
needs to "change" and missing the first opportunity he had to
join the council because he was hiking in Scotland.

His refusal to make a statement on the issue even annoyed members
of his own party. The backbench Labour MP Simon Danczuk
told the Sunday Times that by letting the story "run and
run," Labour have been prevented from getting their message out.

Despite all this speculation, it actually won't be a problem if
Corbyn follows tradition. The
Telegraph reported that the Queen will be fine with it if he
doesn't kneel and there is a tradition of republican Privy
Council member
kissing their own thumb instead of kissing the Queens hand.

It's up to Corbyn whether he decides to stick with his republican
beliefs or to make a conciliatory gesture and kneel. We will find
out what he decides later today.